by

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about the book
National Book Critics Circle Award winner
An astonishing book . . . Fitzgeralds greatest triumph.
New York Times Book Review
The Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe, in the small towns and great universities of
late eighteenth-century Germany. It tells the true story of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a
passionate, impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the Romantic
poet Novalis. Fritz seeks his fathers permission to wed his hearts heart, his spirits
guidea plain, simple child named Sophie von Khn. It is an attachment that shocks his
family and friends. Their brilliant young Fritz, betrothed to a twelve-year-old dullard?
How can this be?
The irrationality of love, the transfiguration of the commonplace, the clarity of
purpose that comes with knowing ones own fatethese are the themes of this beguiling
novel, themes treated with a mixture of wit, grace, and mischievous humor unique to
the art of Penelope Fitzgerald. The Blue Flower, chosen nineteen times in England as the
1995 Book of the Year, now features an introduction by Candia McWilliam in this new
edition.
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questions for discussion
We hope the following questions will stimulate discussion within reading groups
and provide for every reader a deeper understanding of The Blue Flower.
1. The blue flowerdie blaue Blumehas long been a symbol of Romantic yearning.
What is the meaning, in the novel and in the life of Friedrich von Hardenberg (Fritz),
of the blue flower and Fritzs unfinished writing, The Blue Flower? How do Karoline,
Erasmus, Sophie, and the Mandelsloh react to the opening chapter of Fritzs Blue
Flower?
2. How closely does Fitzgerald follow the facts of Fritzs life? Why does she focus on the
years before he became Novalis, the poet and man of letters? How does she present him
as a genius in the making? Is her portrait credible?
3. How can we explain Fritzs sudden, irrational love for the plain, twelve-year-
old Sophie von Khn? What about the girl attracts him so powerfully? Is Sophie a
repository of Fritzs Romantic ideals and aspirations? Does he project upon her
his own thoughts, beliefs, and feelings? What is the significance of his insistence on
Sophies resemblance to Raphaels self-portrait at the age of twenty-five?
4. Fritz approaches mining as not a science, but an art. What does he mean? Are
there conflicts that arise from Fritzs chosen vocation as a poet and his work in the
Directorate of Salt Mines?
5. In the first chapter, Fitzgerald writes that impatience, translated into spiritual energy,
raced through all the young Hardenbergs. How are impatience and spiritual energy
revealed throughout the novel, in relation to individual characters and to their times?
With what consequences?
6. The philosopher Fichte proclaims, We create the world not out of our imagination,
but out of our sense of duty. We need the world so that we may have the greatest
possible number of opportunities to do our duty. How important to Fitzgeralds
characters is the concept of duty? Which characters most embody a sense of duty?
7. In his report to the Freiherr on Fritzs behavior at the school at Neudietendorf, the
Prediger explained that Fritz perpetually asked questions, but was unwilling to
receive answers. Is this characterization true of Fritz throughout the novel? If so, with
what consequences for himself and others?
8. The artist that Fritz asks to paint Sophies portrait says, In every created thing . . .
there is an attempt to communicate. . . There is a question being asked . . . I could not
hear her question, and so I could not paint. Why can Fritz hear Sophies question, but
the painter cant? How does this relate to Fritzs Blue Flower?
9. In the Weissenfels churchyard, Fritz comments to himself, The universe, after all, is
within us. The way leads inwards, always inwards. What does Fritz mean? Is this idea
evident in other characters thoughts or actions?
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10. For all his strengths and accomplishments, Fritz exhibits specific weaknesses, failures
of feeling and understanding, and instances of ignorance. How are these revealed,
especially in his relationships with the women in his life: his mother, Sidonie,
Karoline Just, Sophie, and the Mandelsloh? Are they as evident in his relationships
with men?
11. What does Fritz mean when he insists that women are children of nature and
nature, in a sense, is their art and that we [men] are morally better than [women]
are, but they can reach perfection, we cant? How does Fitzgerald represent the
juxtaposition of, on the one hand, women, Nature, and perfection and, on the other,
men, morality, and the practical world?
12. Of Fritzs circle of friends in Jena, Fitzgerald writes, They were all intelligent, all
revolutionaries, but since each of them had a different plan, none of it would come
to anything. How does this judgment place the Jena circle within the wider milieu of
late eighteenth-century Germany and Europe? What are the most important features
of that milieu, that Zeitgeist? Do the uncertainty and expectancy that moved
among the guests at Fritz and Sophies engagement party constitute an accurate
description of a society on the verge of revolutionary change?
13. On Fritzs first visit to the home of Kreisamtmann Coelestin Just, he experiences a
transfiguration. What other transfigurations does he experience and what is their
nature? What is the relationship between these moments of transfiguration and
everyday life?
14. Fitzgerald tells Novaliss story in fifty-five brief chapters, which have been likened
both to movements in a sonata and to a series of pictures. Which analogy seems
more fittinga musical pattern of movement and countermovement or a gallery of
portraits and landscapes?
15. As Sophie approaches death at Grningen, Fritz pleads with the Mandelsloh to
answer his question, Should I stay here? The Mandelsloh responds, If you stayed
here, you would not be wanted as a nurse . . . You would be wanted as a liar. What
are the full implications of her statement, and why does Fritz decide to leave?
16. Near the end of the novel, Fritz writes in his journal, As things are, we are the
enemies of the world, and foreigners to this earth. Our grasp of it is a process of
estrangement. What does Fritz suggest here, and how do these sentiments relate to
his own life?
17. Fitzgerald writes that Fritz had learned, as a child at Neudietendorf, Chance is one
of the manifestations of Gods will. How does chance play a significant role in the
novel? Is it a manifestation of Gods will?
18. After reading the opening chapter of The Blue Flower to Sophie and the Mandelsloh,
Fritz comments, If a story begins with finding, it must end with searching. Who is
searching, and for what, throughout the novel?
questions for discussion (cont.)
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about the author
fitzgerald on fitzgerald
praise for penelope fitzgerald
PENELOPE FITZGERALD published her first novel, The Golden Child, in 1977, when she
was sixty years old, and went on to publish eight additional novels to increasing praise and
prizes. Three The Bookshop (1978), The Beginning of Spring (1988), and The Gate of Angels
(1990) were short-listed for the Booker Prize. She was awarded the Booker Prize for Offshore
(1979). She also wrote three biographies. Penelope Fitzgerald, who died on April 18, 2000, is
still regarded as one of [Englands] finest and most entertaining novelists (Observer).
Prior to her career as a novelist, Fitzgerald led a varied professional life. In addition to raising
three children, she worked as a journalist, in the Ministry of Food, at the BBC, and as a teacher.
These experiences, as well as her travels, provided a wonderfully rich harvest of settings and
characters from which she later crafted her remarkable works of fiction.
Among her abiding themes are the courage and determination of innocence in the face of
sometimes monstrous adversity, the rewards of courageous eccentricity or creative effort,
the presentation of ones own sense of self, and the sometimes tiny sources of both grand
achievement and terrible loss.
In addition to perfecting a style graced by wit, keen perception, and mastery of language,
Fitzgerald wrote a series of dry, shrewd, sympathetic, and sharply economical books [that] are
almost disreputably enjoyable (New York Times Book Review).
on brevity: I do leave a lot out and trust the reader really to be able to understand it. [My
books are] about twice the length . . . when theyre first finished, but I cut all of it out. Its just an
insult to [readers] to explain everything.
on choosing a subject: Youve decided youre interested in a subject or a period and
then you go and read about it . . . And then you look at pictures about it and listen to the right
music and . . . it begins to reconstitute itself.
on her books as tragic comedies: [My books] are too sad really to be comedies, but not
important enough to be tragedies. And Ive got . . . a great feeling for people who are defeated by
life . . . Theyre very decent sorts, usually, but its really all rather too much for all of them.
on children: Introducing children into a novel is helpful because they introduce a
different scale of moral judgment. Its probably one that theyve learned from adults, but adults
themselves dont stick to it.
Writers & Company, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio
Fitzgerald is a deft and nimble writer . . . [who] displays the English gift for understatement. Her
apt phrases are tossed off casually; her humor is flicked at us airily. Washington Post
Mrs. Fitzgeralds special talent is stylistic, a mannered comic dryness that relishes absurdities
without dwelling on them too long: she moves at speed, is full of dry observations and inventions,
and at her best is very funny. Anthony Thwaite, Observer
Fitzgerald was the author of several slim, perfect novels . . . She was curiously perfect.
Teju Cole, author of Open City
The unpredictability of her intelligence . . . never loses its quality, but springs constant surprises,
and if you make the mistake of reading her fast because she is so readable, you will miss some of
the best jokes. Times (London)
No writer is more engaging than Penelope Fitzgerald. Anita Brookner, Spectator
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